“We are not proposing a single project. We propose a new, green, social contract in Athens” says the candidate for mayor of Athens Harry Doukas in an interview with the Kathimerini of Sunday.

There are downtown neighborhoods where residential and commercial uses are banished, by the pressure of short-term rentals and catering. Should there be a cap on new licenses for hotels and catering establishments? Should the state take measures for hypertourism? And if so, which one?

Athens cannot become a city of only tourists. As far as short-term rentals are concerned, limits must be set. Hypertourism is directly linked to the housing crisis. The absence of any attempt at regulation is glaring as we have a staggering increase since 2015 approaching 470%. European cities are taking action. In Amsterdam and Dublin there are now measurable results proving the usefulness of measures to limit short-term rentals. Therefore, we plan to cooperate systematically with the short-term rental platforms, in order to achieve the optimal distribution of apartments throughout Athens, with time restrictions, where necessary, and the upgrading of residentially degraded areas, on the basis of carrying capacity.

From the day after the elections, we are also implementing a specific plan to utilize all the uninhabited buildings of the Municipality of Athens, the number of which exceeds 1400. We will pressure the government to utilize the available public buildings and convert them into social housing with incentives to return permanent residents and new couples to downtown neighborhoods.

Should table seating be restricted in public spaces? How will the law be upheld and enforced? Are municipal police enough?

Table seating should be limited to where the shop’s license provides and not illegally occupy public space, depriving it of pedestrians, the disabled and parents with prams. But beyond the obvious application of legality, we plan to reduce the legal space occupied by the table seats and return to the pre-pandemic era. In some areas, in fact, we may reduce it even more.
A few days ago, Mr. Bakoyiannis had declared “I wish there would be a table seating movement”. Why does the head of the municipal authority wish for a bench seat movement, when for 4 years he simply had the opportunity to implement the law and did not do it?

The Municipal Police will be able to carry out their mission, knowing that they will have the full coverage of the Mayor for their work. Finally, we should not forget about this issue, as well as for everything else, the condition of social support and trust, as the foundation of any successful intervention.

In the matter of delinquency, apart from complaining to the police, what could the Municipality do?

The Municipal Police of Athens must have a leading role. Our goal is to increase the human potential and strengthen the logistical infrastructure, so that the municipal police can be the man of the Municipality, in every neighborhood, always next to the citizen.

Also, we will strengthen the cooperation of the Municipal Police with EL.AS. which will lead to more police officers available for patrol in the neighborhoods of Athens and to joint supervision of EL.AS. and Municipal Police in the center and in the most remote neighborhoods. Another key tool we will use is increasing lighting in areas with high crime rates. And of course we will organize many more events in the neighborhoods of the city, so that they regain their vitality. “Live” squares and “open schools”, with cultural and sports activities, are important actions in the direction of strengthening security, democracy and freedom. In conclusion, a set of well-planned measures gives positive results.

The Great Walk was started with the aim of giving more space to pedestrians and bicycles. Should the project be completed? Should the use of the car in the center be discouraged?

The “Great Walk”, as it is finally implemented, is a window project that does not offer any substance, which deprived large financial resources and caused unimaginable suffering to the citizens. We will give importance from the beginning to revitalization projects of the neighborhoods of Athens. The neighborhoods are the basis of the edifice, so that it can be connected to the central interventions in an overall plan for the upgrading of the city. As far as the center is concerned, our long-term goal is to greatly reduce car traffic. But this cannot be done before we achieve a significant upgrade of public transport that connects the neighborhoods to the center, the development of bike lanes and the reconstruction of sidewalks, on streets that really need it (such as Solonos), so that it can one to walk comfortably and safely.

If one major project had to be completed in Athens in the next four years, what would it be?

Our vision is a green, safe, clean and creative Athens. For us, the big task is to change the living conditions in the capital. The 25,000 new trees, the reduction of the temperature in the summer months in several neighborhoods of the city, the improvement of the quality of the air we breathe by 25% within five years, the significant reduction of noise pollution, and the fight against energy poverty through the distribution of cheap of clean energy to 50,000 poor households, are the emblematic changes of the costed program that we propose to the Athenians.

In other words, we do not recommend an individual project. We implement a comprehensive policy, which radically changes the quality of life in the city. In other words, we propose a new green social contract in Athens, which will be implemented in the neighborhoods and will concern us all, with an emphasis on the most vulnerable. This is my main difference in relation to the perceptions and priorities of the Bakoyannis mayorship.